Epson has launched its first high-speed linehead Multi-Function inkjet printer for enterprise printing, the WorkForce Enterprise series, WF-C20590 and WF-C17590, that prints at breakthrough printing speeds of up to 100 pages per minute (ppm), one of the fastest speeds in inkjet printing, reinventing business printing in the office and ushering new levels of productivity.

Epson’s pioneering PrecisionCore linehead technology, a first of a kind innovation measuring at 43mm wide and containing approximately 33,500 nozzles, consists of a fixed print head that prints at ultra-fast speeds of 100ipm for both simplex and duplex. Without the moving print head, banding is now greatly minimized, and prints are high quality and laser sharp.

The all-new printing mechanism consists of an electrostatic transport belt in the print pass that ensures the paper is completely flat for stable paper feeding, ensuring the smoothest of gradients and consistently sharp images while delivering at ultra-fast speeds. Due to its stable print feeding and smart design, the printer is able to print on a wide range of paper types of up to 350gsm, including paper of irregular sizes.

The revolutionary WorkForce Enterprise series drives productivity and drastic energy savings of up to 75% less power[1] consumption when copying compared to an average laser printer, resulting in lower electricity costs and higher efficient operation.

As there is no heat involved in the printing process with the PrecisionCore Thin Film Piezo technology, printing at 100ppm uses 1.2kWh, which is less than half of a competitive laser MFP[2]. Without use of heat, there is also minimal warm up time with fast first page out printing compared to laser printers.

Ultra-high capacity ink cartridges yield up to 100,000 pages in black and 50,000 pages in colour each[3], enabling uninterrupted downtime and a lower total cost of ownership and greater cost savings. With the high yields and high volumetric efficiency, there is reduced frequency of consumables exchange compared to toner replacements of a laser printer. The high capacity paper feed unit with option for up to 5,350 sheets for input and paper output capabilities of up to 4,000 with the sheet finisher unit support high volume printing.

The WorkForce Enterprise continues to deliver high quality prints at its high speeds. Its self-maintaining printhead monitors nozzle health and automatically detects and adjusts print head performance, eliminating the issue of clogged ink nozzles. The printer’s DURAbrite Pro inks deliver professional high quality prints and are fade-resistant, water-resistant and fast-drying for high speed printing.

The WorkForce Enterprise lowers total cost of ownership due to having fewer moving parts than colour lasers, resulting in fewer components required for standard maintenance and dramatically reduced downtime as well as cost of service. For example, only a set of paper feed rollers will need to be replaced after extended use for the inkjet printer, compared to the multiple fuser, drums, rollers and print head parts of the laser printer, amongst others.

“With the revolutionary WorkForce Enterprise printer, we are bringing high-speed, high-productivity printers that deliver outstanding quality inkjet printing to enterprises, while helping companies lower total cost of ownership. We see inkjet as the future of business printing and this year to be the tipping point as many more businesses make the switch away from laser. And the WorkForce Enterprise printers will be the catalyst for this,” said Cherry Suarez, Product Manager for Business Inkjets, Epson Philippines.

[1] Taken from BLI database (Feb 2017), ‘Energy Used While Copying’. The Epson WorkForce WF-C20590 uses 180W while copying compared to an average A3 laser/LED MFPs capable of 55-65ppm.

[2]TEC values of A3 MFPs with print speed 50-55 ppm from six manufacturers based on public information from each of those companies. Published energy efficiency of models was converted to TEC values and plotted (Epson research).

[3] Replacement cartridge yields are based on ISO/IEC 24711 tests in Default Mode printing continuously.